leading U.S. dog show competition, held annually by the New York City-based Westminster Kennel Club (WKC). It is one of the country’s oldest continuously running sporting events, second only to the Kentucky Derby in longevity. The designation Best in Show, awarded since 1907, is considered the highest distinction in American dog competition....

For many lovers of rock and roll, the station of choice was neither a local outlet nor a national network. It was something in between—WLAC, based in Nashville, Tennessee, which blasted 50,000 watts of varied programming, including plenty of rhythm and blues at night. In response to the contention that African Americans in rural areas of the South were still unserved by radio, the Federal......

Under Bolesław’s brother and successor, Władysław I Herman, claims to the royal crown and a more ambitious foreign policy were abandoned. Efforts by the palatine, Sieciech, to maintain centralized power clashed with the ambitions of the rising magnate class. Following a period of internal conflict, Bolesław III (the Wry-Mouthed) emerged as the sole ruler (reigned......

grand duke of Lithuania (as Jogaila, 1377–1401) and king of Poland (1386–1434), who joined two states that became the leading power of eastern Europe. He was the founder of Poland’s Jagiellon dynasty....

...Island”). In 1109 a major attack by German forces was repelled at nearby Psie Pole. In 1138 Wrocław became the first capital of all Silesia under the rule of the Piast prince Władysław II (the Exile). Much of the city south of the Oder River was devastated during the Mongol invasion in 1241. At the invitation of Silesian authorities in the 13th century, many......

Polish king (1434–44) who was also king of Hungary (as Ulászló I; 1440–44) and who attempted unsuccessfully to push the Ottoman Turks out of the Balkans. His reign was overshadowed by the presence of his adviser, Zbigniew Oleśnicki....

king of Poland (1632–48), a popular monarch who did much to heal the wounds and solve the problems created by his father, Sigismund III Vasa, an obstinate man and religious bigot who created internal friction in Poland and pursued a series of profitless wars abroad. Władysław sought to make Poland secure during a period of change in northern Europe and Russia....

...opposed the ruthless rule of the Teutonic Order. Polish tolerance was manifest at the Council of Constance (1414–18), where the prominent theologian and rector of Kraków University Paweł Włodkowic (Paulus Vladimiri) denounced the Knights’ policy of conversion by the sword and maintained that the pagans also had their rights. Similarly, the Poles were sympathetic......

...where he tried unsuccessfully to become a professional singer. His real performing debut came on a local radio show in Oklahoma in 1928, and, beginning in 1931, he hosted his own radio program on WLS in Chicago. During this period he also began recording, often covering hits by Jimmie Rodgers. His first film, In Old Santa Fe (1934), launched his career as a cowboy......

...and acceptance of homosexuality, Different from the Others (1919). The controversial film ignited much debate and was banned by German officials within a year. In 1928 Hirschfeld founded the World League for Sexual Reform (WLSR), which had its roots in an early conference that he had organized in 1921, the First International Conference for Sexual Reform on a Scientific Basis. The WSLR.....

Between the wars, Herbert Chapman, the astute manager of London’s Arsenal club, created the WM formation, featuring five defenders and five attackers: three backs and two halves in defensive roles, and two inside forwards assisting the three attacking forwards. Chapman’s system withdrew the midfield centre-half into defense in response to the 1925 offside rule change and often involved......

...introduced in 1893. By 1908, sales of Wrigley’s Spearmint were more than $1,000,000 a year. In 1911 Wrigley took over Zeno Manufacturing, the company that made his chewing gum, and established the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. His company became one of the biggest advertisers in the United States. By 1925, when Wrigley turned the company presidency over to his son, Philip, and became chairman of......

...in medical education and practice, science, and ethics. The medical association also works to promote and protect the interests of its physician members. The largest such organization is the World Medical Association, which has more than 60 member associations. It was founded in 1947....

cooperative organization of Methodist churches that provides a means for consultation and cooperation on an international level. It maintains various committees that are concerned with doctrine, evangelism, education, lay activities, youth, publications, and social and international affairs. The WMC has offices in Geneva, Switz., and at Lake Junaluska, N.C., the headquarters....

weapon with the capacity to inflict death and destruction on such a massive scale and so indiscriminately that its very presence in the hands of a hostile power can be considered a grievous threat. Modern weapons of mass destruction are either nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons—frequently referred to collectively as NBC weapons. See nuclear weapon, chemical...

...chemical weapons, and coordinate rescue operations. Cognizant of the growing risk posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the United States in 1998 authorized the creation of 10 National Guard WMD Civil Support Teams (WMD-CST) within its territory; each team was organized, trained, and equipped to handle chemical emergencies in support of local police, firefighters, medical personnel, and.....

...chemical weapons, and coordinate rescue operations. Cognizant of the growing risk posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the United States in 1998 authorized the creation of 10 National Guard WMD Civil Support Teams (WMD-CST) within its territory; each team was organized, trained, and equipped to handle chemical emergencies in support of local police, firefighters, medical personnel, and.....

...reduce transmission of the disease. One such approach entails transforming populations of A. aegypti mosquitoes with a strain of naturally occurring non-disease-causing endosymbiotic wMel Wolbachia bacteria capable of protecting mosquitoes from viral infection. The spread of the maternally inherited bacterium within a population is facilitated by....

Radio stations, as a rule, reflect and serve the local community. In Cleveland, Ohio, where Alan Freed rocked and ruled in the early 1950s, it was WMMS-FM that came to represent the city in the 1970s. Central to the success of WMMS was deejay Kid Leo (Lawrence J. Travagliante), who ultimately became the station’s program director. By the time Kid Leo joined WMMS in 1973 (after graduating from......

specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) created to promote the establishment of a worldwide meteorological observation system, the application of meteorology to other fields, and the development of national meteorological services in less-developed countries. The WMO was preceded by the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), a nongovernmental o...

Once underground, or free-form, radio proved itself capable of attracting listeners and advertising revenue in significant numbers, radio corporations jumped onto the bandwagon. None was as successful as Metromedia, which owned the West Coast pioneers KSAN in San Francisco and KMET in Los Angeles. The company soon switched its New York City FM station, WNEW, from an all-female deejay format to......

...personally written by Quinton calling for a new federal Indian policy that would provide Indians with education, equality before the law, and land parcels. By 1883 Quinton and Bonney had formed the Women’s National Indian Association (WNIA), which with several other Indian rights associations led a comprehensive campaign for Indian policy reform. In 1887 Congress enacted the Dawes General......

disease affecting hibernating bats in North America that is caused by the growth of a white fungus known as Pseudogymnoascus destructans in the skin of the nose and ears and in the membrane covering the wings. White nose syndrome is the first epizootic (epidemic) disease documented in bats and is associated with high mortalit...

Japan first appears in Chinese chronicles under the name of Wo (in Japanese, Wa). The Han histories relate that “in the seas off Lelang lie the people of Wo, who are divided into more than 100 states, and who bring tribute at fixed intervals.” Lelang was one of the Han colonies established in the Korean peninsula. A history of the Dong (Eastern) Han (25–220 ce) records that......

Japan first appears in Chinese chronicles under the name of Wo (in Japanese, Wa). The Han histories relate that “in the seas off Lelang lie the people of Wo, who are divided into more than 100 states, and who bring tribute at fixed intervals.” Lelang was one of the Han colonies established in the Korean peninsula. A history of the Dong (Eastern) Han (25–220 ce) records that.........

any of the groups of marauders who raided the Korean and Chinese coasts between the 13th and 16th centuries. They were often in the pay of various Japanese feudal leaders and were frequently involved in Japan’s civil wars during the early part of this period....

biennial or perennial herb in the mustard family (Brassicaceae), formerly grown as a source of the blue dye indigo. A summer-flowering plant native to Eurasia, woad is sometimes cultivated for its attractive flowers and has naturalized in parts of North America, where it is considered a noxious weed. The ground and its dried leaves, when wetted and fermented, ...

labour organization founded in Chicago in 1905 by representatives of 43 groups. The IWW opposed the American Federation of Labor’s acceptance of capitalism and its refusal to include unskilled workers in craft unions....

...experiments in photography were in 1957, at which point he was already interested in functional buildings of industry and started documenting those that he had seen around his hometown of Siegen. Hilla studied photography in Potsdam, Germany, worked as an aerial photographer briefly in Hamburg, and moved to Düsseldorf in 1959. The couple met there that year, began collaborating, and......

city, Middlesex county, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S., located just north of Boston. The community, named for Woburn, England, was set off from Charlestown and incorporated as a town in 1642. Aided by construction of the Middlesex Canal (1803), it changed its economic base from agriculture to industry during the first half of the 19th cen...

seat of the dukes of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Eng., with a house that was rebuilt from a medieval Cistercian abbey by Henry Flitcroft (in 1747–61) and Henry Holland (in 1787–88). Its approximately 3,000-acre (1,000-hectare) park is the home of a magnificent collection of rare animals and birds....

one of the principal gods in Norse mythology. His exact nature and role, however, are difficult to determine because of the complex picture of him given by the wealth of archaeological and literary sources. The Roman historian Tacitus stated that the Teutons worshiped Mercury; and because dies Mercurii (“Mercury’s day”) was identified with Wednesday (“Woden’s day”), there...

English-born comic novelist, short-story writer, lyricist, and playwright, best known as the creator of Jeeves, the supreme “gentleman’s gentleman.” He wrote more than 90 books and more than 20 film scripts and collaborated on more than 30 plays and musical comedies....

English-born comic novelist, short-story writer, lyricist, and playwright, best known as the creator of Jeeves, the supreme “gentleman’s gentleman.” He wrote more than 90 books and more than 20 film scripts and collaborated on more than 30 plays and musical comedies....

one of the principal gods in Norse mythology. His exact nature and role, however, are difficult to determine because of the complex picture of him given by the wealth of archaeological and literary sources. The Roman historian Tacitus stated that the Teutons worshiped Mercury; and because dies Mercurii (“Mercury’s day”) was identified with Wednesday (“Woden’s day”), there...

Each of the newer urban districts of Woden–Weston Creek, Belconnen, Tuggeranong, and Gungahlin includes residential suburbs, a major regional centre, and local service centres. These districts were developed according to modern town planning and urban design principles in order to provide services and job opportunities in each urban district close to where people live. This is a matter of......

...In the latter part of the 16th century, the Vijayanagar empire faded, giving place to Mughal power north of the Tungabhadra River and to the rajas of Mysore in the south. In the 17th century the Wadiyars (or Wodeyars) of Mysore profited from the conflict between the Mughal Empire and the Marathas in western India. In 1610 the Wadiyar ruler of Mysore seized Seringapatam (now......

...on two sides of the stone. Discovered in 1627 in southeastern Norway, it is now in Oslo. Authorities do not agree on the translation, but it is clear that WiwaR carved the runes in memory of WoduridaR. The latter part of the inscription tells how WoduridaR was honoured after his death and that he left three daughters, but no sons or male relatives....

city, Śląskie województwo (province), south-central Poland. Located in the Rybnik coal fields, it is 6 miles (10 km) north of the border with the Czech Republic and 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Katowice, the provincial capital....

The first Ghost Dance developed in 1869 around the dreamer Wodziwob (d. c. 1872) and in 1871–73 spread to California and Oregon tribes; it soon died out or was transformed into other cults. The second derived from Wovoka (c. 1856–1932), whose father, Tavibo, had assisted Wodziwob. Wovoka had been influenced by Presbyterians on whose ranch he worked, by Mormons, and by......

Passage of the pension reform was not helped by the involvement of the pension minister, Éric Woerth, in a scandal surrounding Liliane Bettencourt, said to be France’s richest woman through her one-third stake in the L’Oréal cosmetics group. The affair stemmed from a family inheritance lawsuit that eventually gave rise to allegations that in exchange for a tax exemption,......

...victory, he ran for the U.S. Senate in 1994. A social and fiscal conservative, Santorum campaigned for medical savings accounts and against gun control, and he narrowly defeated incumbent Democrat Harris Wofford. He was reelected in 2000....

Aug. 3, 1938Limerick, Ire.Jan. 31, 2016Taplow, Buckinghamshire, Eng.Irish-born radio and television broadcaster who exercised his droll banter and self-deprecating Irish wit to build a long career as a disc jockey, quiz-show presenter, interviewer, and chat-show host. The amiable Wogan also...

Aug. 3, 1938Limerick, Ire.Jan. 31, 2016Taplow, Buckinghamshire, Eng.Irish-born radio and television broadcaster who exercised his droll banter and self-deprecating Irish wit to build a long career as a disc jockey, quiz-show presenter, interviewer, and chat-show host. The amiable Wogan also...

...in Egypt. The African Asante designate their patrilinear groups as ntoro, which means “water,” “river,” and “semen,” and the Wogeo of Papua New Guinea call their patrilinear clans dan—i.e., both water and semen....

...of Lake Chad and the Niger the Buduma and Sorko peoples are fishermen. Sedentary peoples live in dwellings that vary from those made of straw to those made of banco (hardened mud), although the Wogo people live in tents of delicate matting....

...democracy in Germany appeared to him to turn more and more into a national oligarchy of parties, he wrote a bitter attack on these tendencies in Wohin treibt die Bundesrepublik? (1966; The Future of Germany, 1967). This book caused much annoyance among West German politicians of all shades. Jaspers, in turn, reacted to their unfair reception by returning his German passport in......

...exit the grasshopper and enter the pupal stage in the soil. Other species deposit eggs in wasp or bee nests. Another Sarcophaga species develops in the pitcher plant. The large gray fly, Wohlfahrtia vigil, found in the cooler regions of North America, is usually a mammal parasite and may deposit its young on the skin of infants....

...as a basis of strategic stability. Bernard Brodie’s treatise on nuclear deterrence was highly influential, as was the work of Herman Kahn, Glenn Snyder, Thomas C. Schelling, Henry A. Kissinger, and Albert Wohlstetter. Other issues that were addressed in the vast literature of international relations include international, and especially European, integration; alliances and alignment, such as......

collection of 48 preludes and fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach, published in two books (1722 and 1742). It explores the intricacies of each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys and constitutes the largest-scale and most-influential undertaking for solo keyboard of the Baroque era....

...to recover gold values that had escaped both gravity concentration and amalgamation. With E.B. Miller’s process of refining impure gold with chlorine gas (patented in Britain in 1867) and Emil Wohlwill’s electrorefining process (introduced in Hamburg, Ger., in 1878), it became possible routinely to achieve higher purities than had been allowed by fire refining....

July 28, 1973San Mateo county, Calif.In 2016 Anne Wojcicki, American entrepreneur and cofounder and CEO of the personal genetics company 23andMe, announced the release of the company’s first genetics research-focused module developed with ResearchKit, an open-source software created by Apple Inc. for iPhone...

Local government in Poland is organized on three levels. The largest units, at the regional level, are the województwa (provinces), which were consolidated and reduced in number from 49 to 16 in 1999. At the next level are some 300 powiaty (counties or districts), followed by about 2,500 ......

województwo (province), northern Poland. It is bordered by Russia to the north, by the provinces of Podlaskie to the east, Mazowieckie to the south, Kujawsko-Pomorskie to the southwest, and Pomorskie to the west, and by the Baltic Sea...

...epic poem, Transakcja wojny chocimskiej (“The Conduct of the Chocim War”), finished in 1670. It was not published until 1850, as Wojna chocimska. The epic describes the defense in 1621 of the city of Chocim by 65,000 Poles and Cossacks against a Turkish army estimated at 400,000. Historically accurate, though it......

...Krzysztofa Zbaraskiego (1633; “The Important Mission of His Grace Duke Krzysztof Zbaraski”). He also wrote about many historical events, as in Wojna domowa z Kozaki i Tatary (1681; “A Civil War with the Cossacks and Tatars”), an account of the Zaporozhian Cossacks’ revolt, under the leadership of Bohdan Khmelnytsky,......

the bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church (1978–2005), the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and the first from a Slavic country. His pontificate of more than 26 years was the third longest in history. As part of his effort to promote greater understanding between nations and between religions, he undertook numerous trips abroad, traveling far greater distances ...

thin-walled cooking pan, shaped like a shallow bowl with handles, widely used in Chinese-style cooking. The wok has a round bottom that concentrates heat, cooking food quickly with relatively little oil. Food when cooked may be moved up the sloping side of the wok to stay warm without cooking further, while other food is cooked at the bottom. The wok was developed as an implement to conserve scar...

While working his day job, Sparks continued to write. He began a collaboration with former Olympic runner Billy Mills on Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding. The book, which was inspired by a Native American legend, was published in 1990. Determined to become a professional writer, Sparks spent several months working on The......

...of Lake Chad and the Niger the Buduma and Sorko peoples are fishermen. Sedentary peoples live in dwellings that vary from those made of straw to those made of banco (hardened mud), although the Wogo people live in tents of delicate matting....

any of the groups of marauders who raided the Korean and Chinese coasts between the 13th and 16th centuries. They were often in the pay of various Japanese feudal leaders and were frequently involved in Japan’s civil wars during the early part of this period....

...of poetry. She later disowned the first two volumes, which contain poems in the style of Socialist Realism, as not indicative of her true poetic intentions. Her third volume, Wołanie do Yeti (1957; “Calling Out to Yeti”), marked a clear shift to a more personal style of poetry and expressed her dissatisfaction with communism (Stalinism in......

...of the daguerreotype process to make it more feasible for portraiture, the most desired application. The earliest known photography studio anywhere opened in New York City in March 1840, when Alexander Wolcott opened a “Daguerrean Parlor” for tiny portraits, using a camera with a mirror substituted for the lens. During this same period, József Petzval and Friedrich......

city, coextensive with the town (township) of Torrington, Litchfield county, northwestern Connecticut, U.S., on the Naugatuck River. The town was named in 1732 for Great Torrington, England, but the area was not settled until 1737. The town was incorporated in 1740. The village went by several names including Mast Swamp (1747), New Orleans Village (1806), and Wolcottville (1813)...

The Wiener and Kolmogorov research on extrapolation of time series became known as single-series prediction and owed much to the studies (1938) of a Swedish mathematician named Herman Wold, whose work was predicated on the assumption that, if X1, X2, X3, · · · , are successive values of a series identified with discrete......

June 12, 1932Dirre Jille, Eth.May 26, 2002Addis Ababa, Eth.Ethiopian long-distance runner who , became a national hero at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where he unexpectedly captured the gold medal in the marathon and the silver in the 10,000 m. Wolde, who was participating in his ...

June 12, 1932Dirre Jille, Eth.May 26, 2002Addis Ababa, Eth.Ethiopian long-distance runner who , became a national hero at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where he unexpectedly captured the gold medal in the marathon and the silver in the 10,000 m. Wolde, who was participating in his ...

From their white cliffs at Flamborough Head, the Yorkshire Wolds rise inland to an elevation of nearly 800 feet (240 metres), sweeping in a crescent west and south to the Humber at Brough. The Wolds gradually descend to the low plain of Holderness in the southeast and to the alluvial plain of the Rivers Derwent, Ouse, and Aire in the southwest. The dry chalk surface of the Wolds has little......